A Sorceress and Her Knight
by Matrixaliesie
Summary: Sorceresses across the world are being murdered while a controversial marriage has the world distracted. Laguna, concerned for Rinoa's safety embarks on a secret investigation to find the one responsible before they set their eyes on her. Zell and Selphie are sent on an escort mission to protect the bride-to-be from threats of an unknown source. Is there some secret connection?
1. Chapter 1

It was difficult to see in the low light of the street lamps. The only sounds were that of the rain and her footsteps.

How had she found herself in the worst part of town? She'd lived in Esthar most of her life, she knew how to avoid going through the seedier districts, but tonight she'd somehow gotten lost.

The rain got heavier, so she picked up her pace, even though her heels were starting to pinch her toes. She pulled her coat tighter as the wind picked up as she turned down an empty street she believed would lead her back to the nicer part of town.

Suddenly, another set of footsteps echoed behind her, her stomach jumped into her throat. She picked up the pace once again, but her stalker did the same. She quickly darted down another street and hid behind a stoop. She waited a moment till she heard the footstep disappear before peeking out.

The coast was clear, she composed herself and stood back up to find her way once more.

She was almost in the clear, just one more turn and she would be back in a safer area, but she breathed a sigh of relief too soon. Just as she was about to make the turn, she heard a deafening howl behind her and the sound of bone crunching. Before she knew what hit her, she was on the ground, her leg throbbing in unbearable pain.

"Your power," a beast appeared over her, its massive fangs dripped with blood as it came closer and closer to her throat. "Give it to me!"

She screamed as loud as she could, but no one came to her rescue. The beast plunged its fang deep into her neck.

She lurched forward screaming and grabbing her neck to stop the bleeding that wasn't there. She looked around quickly; she wasn't in the street, she was safe in her bed covered in sweat.

It was a dream but felt so real.

These dreams were happening more and more lately. The settings were all different, she didn't look the same in each one, but they all had the same beast stalking her through the streets. This one hit too close to home for her liking.

"Lady Aliesie?" one of the maids knocked before entering, "are you alright? I heard screaming."

"I'm fine," it was true for the most part, physically she wasn't hurt, but sleep was out of the question.

"It's time to get up ma'am," the maid gave a slight bow before exiting.

She wiped the sweat from her brow and tried her best to shake the nightmare from her mind.

* * *

 _"_ _The world waits in excitement as the wedding of Duke Fabian Dolletara son of the Grand Duke of Dollet and Duchess Aliesie Crowley of Centra closes in! In just thirty days they will be tying the knot here at the palace of the Grand Duke in Dollet…"_ the television droned, but Laguna wasn't listening.

He couldn't get behind the hype of the wedding; the whole thing was archaic to him. He was all for marriage under normal circumstances, but this wasn't the case, an arranged marriage for the sake of a treaty. It was something he didn't think the world needed in this modern age.

He didn't care if it opened more trade, taking away the choice on who to spend your life with was just…cruel.

"Sir?" Laguna hadn't even heard his aid enter his office. He quickly turned the television off and focused his attention on her.

She was attractive by conventional standards. Her long platinum blonde hair was always pulled neatly into a tight bun, her icy blue eyes hid behind thick framed glasses and her wardrobe was far more professional than Laguna's.

"Doctor Odine is insisting on seeing you."

Laguna winced. "What does he want?"

"He wouldn't say, he just said it was urgent and…" she swallowed hard and shut her mouth quickly.

"And… what?"

"And… 'ze buffoon… needz to fix it.'"

Laguna narrowed his eyes, "that's not what he said was it?"

She bit her lip and winced as she gripped her file folder tighter.

Laguna found it funny that she seemed not to want to hurt his feelings. "It's alright; you can tell me what he said."

"I'd rather not, sir," she shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

"Must be serious," Laguna stood and stretched his legs, "where is he?"

"In his lab, sir," she bowed and followed Laguna out the door.

* * *

 _"_ _Preparations are almost complete for this historic event, despite a small level of controversy excitement is high here in Dollet as we await the arrival of the bride to be tomorrow afternoon."_

The television was blaring, but Selphie didn't seem to notice. She sat at the kitchen table just staring at the mug in her hands. She'd always dreamed of seeing a wedding like this. Of course, she was the bride in all those fantasies.

The wedding would be a sight to behold, even if it weren't going to be Selphie walking down the aisle.

"Selphie!"

She jumped at the sound of her name. She wasn't expecting anyone, "hey, Zell," she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're still in your pajamas?" Zell helped himself to her refrigerator. "Did you forget we have to go check on Squall's place?"

She'd been so enthralled in the wedding news that she completely spaced that Squall asked the two of them to house sit while he was on vacation with Rinoa. "Yeah, sorry. I'll go get ready."

"Why are you watching this anyway?" he turned the volume down on the television so he could be heard and took a seat at the table to wait.

"You don't think it's kinda cool?" Selphie found Zell's disdain for the event humorous.

"I mean, the idea behind it is kinda cool but," he struggled for a moment searching for the right words. "I think it's a little messed up that they're spending so much money on a wedding for people that probably don't even like each other. Not only that, its money that could be spent on the people to improve their lives and essentially achieve the same goal."

Selphie laughed as she returned from her bedroom, "what are your real feelings, Zell?"

Zell rolled his eyes and headed for the door, "it's just pointless is all."

"It's a shame I didn't meet him first," Selphie stared off dreamily while grabbing her coat.

"What?"

"If I'd met him first, that could be my wedding they're talking about," she sighed.

"You don't know anything about the guy, what makes you think you'd even like him? Or, that he'd even like you?"

Selphie laughed, "you don't have to like someone to marry them."

Zell scoffed and shook his head. She wasn't wrong. The odds of the Duke and Duchess liking each other were slim, yet they were getting married.

"You can't tell me that if you met her first, you wouldn't ask her out," Selphie challenged.

"I don't know anything about her," the martial artist snapped. "I'm not going to marry a girl just because I think she cute."

"So, you think she's cute?" Selphie giggled.

"I'm done talking about this," Zell sighed on his way out the door.

"Alright Odine, what is sooo important?" Laguna mocked entering the lab.

"You, girl!" the eccentric little man yelled angrily. "I toldz you not to bring bafoon!"

Laguna looked over to his aide to see her terrified with her mouth hanging open in shock. She looked back and forth between him and Odine seemingly hoping for someone to give her some instruction.

"It's alright, Delilah, you can go, I'll deal with the troll," Laguna laughed, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

She bowed slightly and turned to leave.

"Who you call troll?! You vant fisty-cuff?! Ve go outzide and zettle like menz!"

Laguna rolled his eyes and went to look at the large display screen; he didn't understand a thing about it. He did find it strange that he had pictures of different girls all over it.

"What's this all about?" he gestured to the screen.

"Zat iz ze problem," Odine answered calmly.

"That tells me nothing."

"All zeze girlz vere killed," the doctor's grim expression was an unusual sight.

"Why does that interest you?"

"Ze reason zey were killed iz vat interest me," Odine huffed.

"And that is?" Laguna prodded.

"Zey ver all zorzerzz," Odine answered.

"How could you know that if they're dead?" Laguna was skeptical of most anything Odine said but this was by far one of the more outlandish things he's said.

"Iz in zere blood," Odine treated it as common knowledge.

"All these girls were killed in different countries, how did you even get access to their blood?"

Odine didn't answer but smiled cheekily. He'd done something illegal and didn't want to confess to the crime.

Laguna sighed and rolled his eyes, "so, what's the problem? This could all just be coincidence."

"It iz not!" Odine yelled.

"How do you know?"

"Each of zem reported to polize of zeeing ze death of previouz zorzerezz in a dream."

"So, someone is trying to scare these women before they kill them?" Laguna knew Odine must have committed several crimes in his search for answers, but he didn't bring it up. This was certainly more serious than he expected. "Do you know who's next? Maybe we can protect her."

"I'm affraidz not," odine sighed, "ze next target haz not come forvard."

"Then what are we supposed to do," Laguna crossed his arms and stared at the floor.

"Zere iz van pozzible target," Odine's casual tone suggested he had something up his enormous sleeve. "Mizz Rinoa."

Rinoa had Squall and all of Garden to protect her, but there was no telling how many other women were left vulnerable to this psychopath.

"Don't you have some sorceress tracker?"

"Now you vant tracker?!" Odine snapped.

Years ago, Odine asked for funding to be able to track sorceresses; Laguna denied his request calling it an invasion of privacy and just plain creepy.

"What do _you_ propose then?" Odine did no appreciate Laguna's sour tone.

"I could make tracker… if you bring mizz Rinoa here to tezt it," his casual answer rang a warning bell with Laguna.

"You just want to experiment on her."

Bringing her to Esthar was not an option. Rinoa might not have an issue, but Squall would not approve.

"I'll take care of getting her more protection," Laguna didn't have much choice, he couldn't let anything happen to them. Rinoa was his daughter in law after all. "You, figure out how to find other sorceresses."

Laguna couldn't wait for Odine's snarky response; he had to call Squall as soon as possible. At least with Squall, all he had to do was warn him that someone might want to harm Rinoa.

It was certainly a tricky situation.

* * *

The palace halls were dark and empty, just the way she liked it. She hated the formality of the staff bowing every time she walked passed them. She didn't think herself their superior just because of a silly title, and she didn't think she should be treated like she was.

Breakfast was always the most relaxing meal. It was just Aliesie and her brother, no formalities, no titles and no one walking on eggshells around them. Just like when they were children.

It was saddening to think this was going to be their last breakfast together.

A small part of her regretted agreeing to this arrangement. She'd only met Fabian once, and that was only for a brief time.

She would just have to trust her brother that it was for the greater good.

"Good morning Damion," she tried her best to hide how nervous she was about her journey later.

"Morning," he didn't even look up from the papers in his hand.

He was always busy, one of the drawbacks of being king.

"So… is everything ready for my trip?" she asked quietly grabbing a piece of fruit. She didn't want to talk about it, but there wasn't anything else to say.

"Almost," he sighed.

"Almost?" she scoffed. She assumed everything would be completely ready by now given he had months to arrange the whole thing with the grand duke.

"Some concerns regarding your safety have come to my attention," he said casually. "It's probably nothing, but I decided it might be best to air on the side of caution."

"What kind of concerns?" she tried to hide the shakiness in her voice. Did she have to fear for her life? Did it have something to do with her dream? No, that wasn't possible, how could he know about that.

"You shouldn't have to worry about it," he smiled, which was Damion speak for "I'm not telling you."

"Are you going to do something about it?"

"Yes," he smiled.

"Can I ask what that is?" Aliesie asked.

"I've hired a few SeeDs to escort you to Dollet and protect you while you're there," he answered.

"SeeD?" she laughed, her voice slightly shrill. "Don't you think that's a bit much? I thought you hated SeeD?"

"I do, but, it's better to be safe than sorry," he sighed.

What kind of threat could warrant hiring SeeD? Damion didn't normally respond to things like this as they always ended up being a hoax. Was this one real? How did he know for sure it wasn't a hoax? She had so many questions but knew he wasn't going to answer one.

"They'll be here in a few hours," he added while leaving the dining room.

* * *

"I think Rinoa has a few too many plants," Selphie complained as she watered one of the numerous plants in their living room.

In the eight years that followed the defeat of Ultimecia Rinoa had taken up botany as a hobby. She used it to help her focus her magic; waiting for the seeds to sprout on their own made her impatient so she would use her magic to make them sprout.

It was just a little pass time after the liberation of Timber, but then she managed to turn it into a successful business.

"Just water them and quit complaining," Zell ordered.

Selphie pouted but did as he said. They didn't get much excitement since the liberation, most of the world was at peace and SeeD wasn't a necessity. If they did find themselves on a mission, it was never anything exciting.

Garden was slowly turning into a regular school. SeeDs were becoming a thing of the past.

It wasn't a bad thing, but Selphie didn't feel that way. Being a SeeD was all she wanted to do, and it was getting taken away from her.

Now she was on plant duty. Sure, it wasn't a SeeD assignment, it was just a request from Squall, but it still made her feel like she was wasting her abilities.

They reached the last plant at the same time when they went to water it; the phone started ringing.

"Should we answer that?" Selphie asked.

"We were asked to water plants, not answer phones," Zell sighed, putting the watering can away.

"But it could be Sir Laguna!" Selphie squealed excitedly.

"Probably is," Zell sighed.

"I'm gonna answer it," she said darting for the phone.

"Don't," it was too late. Selphie already picked up the phone and greeted whoever was on the other end.

 _"_ _Is Squall home?"_ The caller asked.

"Sir Laguna!" Selphie replied excitedly.

 _"_ _Is Squall home?"_ he repeated.

"No, he's on vacation," Selphie answered finally.

 _"_ _Where?"_ he demanded.

"He didn't tell us so we couldn't tell you," she answered reluctantly.

 _"_ _Damn,"_ he said quickly before hanging up.

"What was that about?" she mumbled.

"Doesn't matter," Zell sighed, "Xu wants us in her office."

* * *

"I have an assignment for the two of you," Xu didn't bother to look at them when they walked in.

"Kinda figured that," Selphie sighed rolling her eyes.

Xu cast her a glare, "you're to report to the Centran royal palace."

"For what?" Zell asked.

"That information will be disclosed when you arrive," she said looking back down at her paperwork. "You have forty minutes to be on the Ragnarok."

"How long will we be gone for?" Selphie asked.

"That information will also be disclosed on arrival."

"Can you tell us anything?" Zell laughed.

"Make sure you wear your dress uniform," Xu answered.

* * *

It was a terrifying thought. Aliesie'd never left home for an extended period like this before, at least not without her brother. What made it worse was the likelihood that she might never return to Centra.

Aliesie only had an hour before leaving. All her packing was done, and she didn't even have a say in what went with her. For all she knew, the maids packed her nothing but clown suits, she doubted that was the case though.

There were lots of things Aliesie was going to miss about the Centran Palace. The biggest thing she would miss was the gardens. They were always her favorite place to hide from her tutors. The way the sun shone on the lake, the colors of all the different flowers that flowed over the stone retaining walls. Best of all was the gazebo, with its ornate designs and white wrought iron structure entwined with vines of wisteria, it was a relaxing place to spend her days.

SeeDs for bodyguards. She scoffed at the thought, but if she was honest, the idea was a little scary. She'd never met a SeeD before, but she'd heard rumors from the other nobles that they could be brutes.

Would the SeeDs assigned to protect her be that way? She briefly imagined two muscle-bound thugs following her everywhere she went and shuddered.

"Your grace?"

Aliesie jumped at the sudden interruption. "Yes?" she replied breathlessly.

"The king requests your presence in his office, ma'am," the maid said with a curtsy.

Just then a bright red ship flew over the palace stirring the wind around her. The SeeDs must have arrived.

* * *

Zell was nervous. It was a strange feeling; he was never nervous on missions. Maybe it was the fact that they weren't given much information, or that they were going somewhere they were never invited to be before.

The Centran government was very small, and the king was notoriously opposed to SeeD, so the fact that anyone working in the palace would hire them was vaguely suspicious.

Selphie didn't seem the least bit phased by it. She was cheerful the entire way and certain the mission had something to do with the wedding of the duke and duchess.

The palace was bigger than he expected. The architecture was like something out of a fairy tale, it had gargoyles all along the roof and giant stone pillars lining the courtyard. The interior was even grander, with its marble floors, high ceilings, and colorful tapestries.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, they were stopped by the palace guards and searched for weapons. Selphie's nunchaku was taken from her, Zell's metal knuckles were taken as well, and they were led down the long corridor to a set of double doors.

They were checked once again for weapons, Zell thought it was a bit overkill but cooperated none the less.

"Only speak when spoken to," the guard ordered before opening the door, he took one step inside and bowed respectfully. "They're here, your majesty."

Zell heard Selphie squeal slightly, no one else seemed to hear it but he was standing right next to her. He suppressed a laugh at her elation then did the same as the guard did and bowed toward the man sitting behind the giant mahogany desk.

"Do you know why you've been summoned here?" he asked, not bothering to look up from his papers. His black hair hid most of his face.

Zell could come up with several things, none of which would have been wise things to say to a king in his palace. So, he stayed with a simple; "no, we don't, your majesty."

"I require your services," the King explained.

 _No shit_ , Zell thought.

"Leave us," he ordered his guards before finally leaving his desk.

They bowed and did as they were told and soon it was just the three of them.

"There have been… threats," the king hesitated in his explanation.

"What kind of threats?" Selphie asked.

"Threats against my sister's life," he sighed. "I fear she might be in danger as soon as she leaves for Dollet and the duration of her stay there."

"With all due respect, your majesty, why don't you just send more of your guards with her?" Zell asked. "Why hire SeeD when you've been openly against us for so long?"

The king moved closer; he towered over the two of them, it made him that much more intimidating. That and the intensity of his green eyes.

"The detail of the threat was too precise, it was as if they knew exactly where my sister would be at all times during her trip. The only ones who knew any of that information were me and her security detail," he explained. "Because of that, I don't know who I can trust, so I had no other choice."

"But, why SeeD?" Zell asked.

"I may have my opinions of SeeD, but one thing I know for sure is that SeeD is loyal to whoever supplies the paycheck," he chuckled.

"What do you need us to do?" Selphie asked quickly before Zell's temper flared.

"I need the two of you to protect my sister at all costs," the king answered. "The three of you will be leaving for the harbor soon."

"Three?" Zell asked.

"Yes, the two of you and my sister. The fewer parties involved, the easier it is to deviate from a set course, should something come up," he explained.

It made sense. If there were only three people who knew where they were, she would be in less danger, and if there were danger it would be easier to avoid.

"When do we get to meet the princess?" Selphie asked excitedly.

"My sister is a duchess, not a princess," he sighed sitting back behind his desk. "And she will be here momentarily."

* * *

To say she was afraid to walk in the office was a vast understatement. She stood staring at the door for the longest time. She couldn't even bring herself to touch the handle because once she opened the door, her life as she knew it was over. She'd be off to meet her fiancé with people she'd never met before.

Aliesie's hand shook as she reached for the handle and taking a deep breath as she turned it and took a step into the room.

Damion sat behind his desk like usual, but all his guards were gone. Across the room stood two strangers dressed in the flashy uniform of the SeeDs. They weren't remotely what she expected.

They were both short, the woman was about the same height as Aliesie, and the man was at least a few inches taller than she was. She had to admit; he was handsome. Though his facial tattoo made him look slightly menacing.

"Aliesie," Damian's voice made her jump slightly. "These two are going to be your new bodyguards from here on out."

That wasn't hard to guess.

"Hello," she whispered.

"I'm Zell Dincht," the blond man smiled. "This is Selphie Tilmitt," he gestured to the spritely woman next to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your grace."

The sound of his voice made her heart do a summersault, and she couldn't begin to explain why.

"So, when do we leave?" Aliesie asked, trying not to dwell on the feeling that bubbled up into her throat.

"Right now," the king answered. "Your bags have already been loaded into the car to head to the port."

She swallowed against the sudden overwhelming dread.

"We'll wait outside. We can leave whenever you're ready Lady Aliesie," Selphie smiled.

Aliesie nodded and watched them walk out the door.

"You'll be safe with them," Damian assured.

"If you say so," she whispered.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

How was she supposed to answer that? She was being whisked off to meet her soon to be husband. She was terrified. What if he was abusive? What if he was a philanderer? So many What if questions rushed through her head. None of them would be able to be answered till she met him.

"I'm fine," she sighed. "Will I see you at the wedding?"

"Of course!" he laughed.

"Good," she smiled. "I guess I'll see you then," she laughed nervously and turned toward the door.

"Aliesie," he called. She stopped and turned to face him again when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug. "Be safe little sis," he whispered.

"Goodbye big brother," she tried her best to hold back her tears as she pulled away from him and turned to leave.

* * *

So this is closer to what I originally planned for I'll Be Your Knight but it got way of track in that one. If you read it you have some idea of whats going to happen, but most everything is going to be different.

Reviews are always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

There were a lot of thing Zell expected when he walked into the Centran Royal Palace.

He expected to make some tiny offense to get executed by the SeeD hating king.

He expected Selphie to get excited about the prospect of going to the noble wedding and end up hugging the king and getting them thrown in prison. He was impressed that she didn't do that.

The one thing he didn't expect was the duchess herself. Sure, he expected her to be beautiful, that was the consensus about her from most of the world. He wasn't blind, he'd seen pictures of her just this morning. He didn't expect how fast she made his heart beat, or the lump that formed in his throat that made him wonder if he could even speak.

Her hair was long and shined even in low light he hadn't anticipated how black it really was. Her skin was like porcelain and her eyes were as blue as the sky.

For a moment, he forgot how to breath when he saw the way her white cotton sundress wrapped around her slender form.

Zell barely understood what she said to them but her voice was angelic.

He felt himself speaking but all he heard come out was gibberish. Thankfully she wasn't looking at him like he had two heads so it must have sounded semi-normal.

His head was in a fog. He felt strange, like he was being drawn to her. He stood in a trance just staring at her till he felt Selphie pull on his arm snapping him out of it.

"You OK?" she whispered, "you're being weird."

"I'm fine," he lied, he had no idea what he was feeling.

"You sure? You're really pale," he appreciated her concern but he didn't have the patience to attempt to explain how he was feeling.

They had to get to the port; the mission took priority.

* * *

The sun shining on the waves was blinding. The ship bobbed along at a steady pace as the wind blew through her hair.

Aliesie had never been on the ocean before. It was a surreal experience. An endless amount of blue and white with the occasional flock seagulls. The smell of the ocean spray soothed her anxieties, it was nice having at least a short period of time to not worry about her impending future.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

She jumped, not expecting a visitor.

Zell was all smiles as he joined her at the bow of the ship. He had a nice smile, it helped detract from the intimidation his tattoo caused.

"Yes, it is," she whispered.

"It's kinda funny," he laughed. "The last time I was on a ship like this I was going to Dollet."

"You've been to Dollet before?"

"Lots of times," he laughed as he leaned on the railing.

"What's it like?" she asked nervously.

"The architecture is a lot like Deling City but the people are nicer," Zell answered.

She nodded, but it didn't explain anything. She'd never been to Deling City either.

Aliesie's stomach was a bundle of nerves, despite the relaxing sound of the waves. Though it wasn't just the fact that she was headed for a marriage she wasn't sure she wanted, it was also the man standing next to her. He made her heart do summersaults. She couldn't explain it.

She didn't know what to say to him. Everything she came up with she thought would be a boring subject for him. He's had this exciting life and all she's done is sit in her garden and drink tea.

"I think I'll take a nap," she whispered quickly darting inside the ship.

"Don't get too comfortable, we'll be stopping at Fisherman's Horizon for the night," he called after her.

She stopped in her tracks; "why?"

"There's a storm in the forecast that's supposed to make the waves pretty treacherous," Zell shrugged. "It's for your safety."

She nodded and headed to her room.

* * *

Laguna stared impatiently at the phone sitting on his desk willing it to ring, which it did, regularly. The problem was it was never who he wanted to talk to on the other end.

He didn't understand why everyone wanted so much from him, it wasn't like anyone ever did what he said anyway.

"Sir?"

He jumped at the sudden intrusion.

It was just Delilah. She was always sneaking up on him. He didn't expect her to be so sneaky when he hired her, even if she was quiet he expected himself to notice her platinum blonde hair when she walked into a room.

"What is it?" he asked trying to be pleasant despite his irritation.

"Dr. Odine asked me to give you this," she answered handing him a manila envelope.

"Thank you," he sighed.

She bowed respectively turned to leave.

Laguna waited till she was gone to open it, not that he didn't trust her but the fewer people that knew about the whole thing the better.

 _"_ _Potential Zorzerezz"_ Is all it said on the envelope.

Laguna rolled his eyes; "even his handwriting has the accent."

He flipped through the other pages full of names of women. It was almost like Odine just printed out a list of all the women in the world based on the size of the list.

Laguna tossed the list on his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. Dealing with Odine on a normal day was frustrating; this was torture.

His phone rang again, Laguna jumped to answer it.

 _"_ _You better have a damn good reason for leaving me fifty voicemails while I'm on vacation!"_

"Rinoa might be in danger," Laguna said quickly.

 _"_ _Why should I believe that?"_ Squall huffed.

"Why would I lie about that?"

He heard Squall grumble on the other end. Laguna was known for making things up to get Squall to visit but one thing he would never lie about was the safety of those he cared about.

 _"_ _What evidence do you have?"_ Squall finally asked.

"There are sorceresses being killed all over the world!" Laguna said practically yelling.

 _"_ _People get killed every day,"_ Squall said nonchalantly.

"There is a pattern," Laguna sighed.

 _"_ _Even if there is a pattern, how could you know these women are sorceresses? They're dead, it isn't like they can tell you,"_ Squall scoffed.

"Odine found this thing in their DNA that says they're sorceresses," Laguna replied smugly.

 _"_ _Odine said that?"_

"Yup."

 _"_ _And you believed him?"_

Laguna didn't have an answer. It made sense that Odine would make things up just to get the chance to experiment on Rinoa.

It was despicable. At least when Laguna made up things just to get the two of them to Esthar it was just to spend time with them, not do crazy science experiments.

He felt foolish for believing Odine in the first place.

 _"_ _Look, if you can find any evidence that what he says is true on your own I'll consider the possibility that she might be in danger,"_ Squall conceded. _"Till then, I'm going to enjoy my vacation."_

The line went dead. Laguna didn't know where to begin, he wasn't a detective. He didn't know the first thing about investigations.

"Is everything alright, Sir?"

Laguna jumped again at the sound of her voice.

"I'm alright, Delilah," he chuckled.

"If you don't need anything, I'll be heading home for the night," she smiled.

"Have a good night," Laguna smiled.

She offered a bow before turning to leave.

"Wait," Laguna stopped her before she made it to the hall. "You have a degree in criminal justice, don't you?"

"No," she laughed, "political science."

"Oh, never mind then," he sighed.

"I just watch a lot of police shows," she shrugged.

It wasn't exactly the kind of qualifications he was looking for but it was better than nothing.

"Can you come in early tomorrow?" He asked.

"If you need me to, of course," she smiled. "Can I ask why?"

"I'll explain in the morning," Laguna sighed. "Get some rest."

"Yes sir," she bowed again and left his office.

Laguna flopped down in his chair and turned to look out over the city, the sunlight sparkled on the tall buildings as the day slowly came to an end.

* * *

The way people talked about Fisherman's Horizon made it seem like it was a high-class resort, not a town built primarily out of scrap metal. Even from a distance it looked like nothing but a pile of junk floating in the ocean.

"Are you sure we have to stop here?" Aliesie asked Selphie nervously.

"There isn't anywhere else we can reach before the storm hits," Selphie laughed gesturing to the ominous dark clouds on the horizon.

The waves were already starting to get rough and more than once, Aliesie had lost the contents of her stomach over the railing. She didn't want to stay on the rocking ship but she feared that Fisherman's Horizon would not fare much better in the coming storm.

"It's sturdier than it looks," Zell chimed, carrying her bags up from below deck. "It didn't fall apart when Balamb Garden crashed into it," he laughed.

"It did what?!" Aliesie's eyes went wide.

"Long story," Zell laughed.

"We'll be docking soon," Selphie announced, placing her arm around Aliesie's shoulders. "You'll feel better about the place once you see it up close!"

Aliesie didn't believe her but it was better than having to stay on the rocking ship any longer. She only hoped that FH was indeed 'sturdier than it looks' as Zell put it.

It had been years since Zell visited FH. They had made lots of improvements since then, most of them cosmetic but some were structural. Ever since the train line to Esthar opened back up the town got a huge boost in revenue from tourists stopping for a break.

Zell's brain was still in a haze when the ship docked, he remembered everything that happened but he didn't remember the act of doing it. It was like his body was on auto-pilot and his brain was just getting updates on what was happening. Everything he heard himself say to Aliesie sounded like gibberish to him but it seemed to make sense to her.

The sky was almost black when they started disembarking and Zell was worried that they would be caught in the rain before they made it to the hotel.

The Docks heaved on the waves as the storm grew stronger, Zell feared they might be thrown into the marina. He watched carefully as Aliesie disembarked, each step was shaky as she clung to the railing of the ramp. When her foot landed on the dock a massive wave crashed into the marina making the dock surge upward knocking Aliesie off balance and fall toward the water.

Zell's body reacted before his brain did and lunged for her wrist and caught her in the nick of time and pulled her in close.

A strange sensation surged through his body, it was like he grabbed an electric fence but it didn't hurt, his skin started tingling and his hair stood on end. And just like that, the fog in his brain cleared. Nothing like that ever happened to him before.

"Are you alright?" he asked her once she was safely off the docks.

"I-I'm fine," she stammered, her entire body was shaking like a leaf.

"Let's hurry to the hotel before the rain hits," Zell ordered.

Aliesie never ran so fast in her life. The entire way to the hotel, (which was thankfully above sea level) Zell never let go of her hand. It was strange how comforting that was. She'd just met this man not hours ago and she already felt safer around him than she had anyone else in her entire life.

The rain let loose when the hotel was in sight but they managed to stay somewhat dry.

All the hotel had available was a junior suite, it was expensive but better than nothing. Aliesie had never shared a room with other people before. She'd never stayed in a hotel before either, this day was full of firsts for her.

The room didn't seem big enough for three people, it had one queen sized bed and a couch with two chairs. It was much smaller than her room at the palace; it was cozy.

Zell shut the heavy curtains incase the wind got strong enough to break a window.

"What do we do now?" Aliesie asked quietly.

"We try to relax and get some sleep," Zell answered. "We're leaving first thing in the morning for Dollet."

"So, who is sleeping in the bed?" she asked trying not to make it seem like she wanted the bed.

"I'll take the couch, you and Selphie can take the bed," Zell answered.

Aliesie nodded, unsure of how she felt about sharing a bed with someone else.

"If the two of you don't mind, I'm going to take a bath," Aliesie announced.

"We'll be out here if you need us," Selphie smiled.

Aliesie smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.

"So, are you gonna ask her out?" Selphie whispered.

"What?! No!" Zell gasped.

"I saw you making eyes at her," Selphie laughed. "And I think she might have a thing for you too!"

"We're taking her to her wedding," Zell sighed. "I'm not Irvine."

Selphie's face fell and Zell realized the error of his ways.

It had been a few years since They talked about Irvine's death. It was still a sour subject for Selphie. Even reminisce about the good times was painful.

"I'm sorry Selphie, I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine, I'm gonna go get us all some food," She muttered, heading toward the door without another word.

Zell flopped down on the sofa with a sigh. This mission was going to be a trial for him. At least the fog in his head was gone now, something he hoped would be permanent.

He couldn't deny what Selphie said, he was attracted to Aliesie but there wasn't anything he could do about it. She was engaged to someone else and the marriage was the lynch pin to a major treaty. If he were to whisk her away it could lead to war.

The most he could hope for was that she turned out to be a horrible person and he would get over his attraction.

"Um… Excuse me," Aliesie called softly from the bathroom. "Can someone bring me my bag, please?"

"Which one?" Zell asked.

She had three full sized suit cases.

"The one with my pajamas in it," She replied.

"I don't know which one that is," Zell said flatly. "And I'm not going through your bags."

"I don't know which one it is either, I didn't pack them," Aliesie replied.

"Then how do you know your pajamas are even in one of them?" Zell laughed.

"I-I don't, I guess," she murmured.

Zell chuckled and dug through his bag and retrieved a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. He knocked on the bathroom door and waited to hear the door open, he covered his eyes and offered her the clothes.

"You can wear these while you're looking through your bags."

She took the clothes and closed the door.

He tried his best to get the redness out of his cheeks, he didn't know why he was blushing, it wasn't like he saw anything. Maybe it was just the idea of her wearing his clothes, even for a short period of time.

He didn't look at her while she dug through her bags, he didn't want to have the image of her in his clothes stuck in his head. She quickly found what she was looking for and headed back for the bathroom, it wasn't long after that she returned Zell's clothes.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem," he replied, still trying not to look at her.

She took a seat in one of the chairs across from him and looked around the room. He didn't know what to say to her and she seemed to have the same problem.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked sheepishly.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Well, it's about something I overheard while I was taking a bath," she added.

Zell felt his cheeks get hot and his heart stopped beating for a moment. He took a deep breath before asking her to continue.

"Who is Irvine?" she asked. "I heard you and Selphie talking about him briefly, I was just wondering who he was."

"Is that all you heard?" he asked nervously.

"Yes, why?" she asked.

"No reason," he laughed awkwardly, "Irvine was Selphie's husband. He died."

"Oh, is that why she left?"

"It's one reason, Irvine is a sensitive subject for Selphie and it's best not to bring him up when she's around," Zell explained. "She also went to get food."

Even though food was just an excuse for Selphie to leave, Zell would kill for something to eat. He hadn't had a bite since breakfast and it was well past dinner time.

They were back to an awkward silence.

"Dinner is served!" Selphie yelled slamming the door against the wall.

Zell jumped but was grateful for the interruption. If they'd been left alone much longer there was no telling what he would end up saying. Or doing.

* * *

The storm raged long into the night and kept Aliesie awake. When it finally started to wane, she learned how loud Selphie's snoring was, it was worse than the storm. It didn't help that Selphie was also a bed hog. Aliesie barely had any blanket to cover herself with and only a narrow space on the mattress.

She tugged at the blanket to try and get some more but just then, Selphie rolled the other way and released some of the blanket, sending Aliesie crashing to the floor with a thud.

If this was any indication as to what it would be like to be married she was now more reluctant than ever.

"You okay?" Zell croaked craning his neck to look over the arm of the couch.

"I'm fine," she grumbled in response. "I'll just sleep on the floor."

"No, take the couch," Zell insisted, rolling onto the floor.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm already down here and I'm too tired to get back up," he yawned. "Besides, don't you need to be camera ready for when you get to Dollet tomorrow?"

He wasn't wrong, and it was not something she was looking forward too.

She never liked being in the limelight, usually when she did travel, her brother was there to get all the attention. This time all eyes would be on her. If she fell, said something wrong or made a weird face the whole world would know about it and mock her for it.

Aliesie made herself comfortable on the couch, as comfortable as she could be given the hard cushions.

"Can I ask you something duchess?" Zell slurred.

"Sure," Aliesie laughed.

"Why are you marrying someone you don't know?"

That was something she asked herself on a regular basis. She knew why, but it wasn't something she could tell a man she just met.

"It's complicated," she whispered.

She looked down at Zell to see if he was going to respond but he was sound asleep. He might not have heard what she said.

* * *

"Sir, can you please tell me what it is were doing in the morgue?" Delilah asked nervously.

"I need to make sure Odine wasn't lying," Laguna answered as he rifled through a file cabinet.

"But, why did we have to come here? You're the president, you can just request this information!" she countered.

"Where's the fun in that?" Laguna laughed.

"I'm sorry, dead people creep me out, sir," she shuddered.

"They aren't going to jump up and attack you."

"You don't know that, sir, there is all kinds of magic that can make the dead attack you!"

"I don't think we have to worry about that," Laguna was trying his best to comfort her but it didn't seem to be working. "I mean, we're in the records room, there aren't any dead bodies in here."

"Do you know what you're looking for?"

"Not exactly," Laguna confessed. "But, I think I'll know it when I see it."

Delilah rolled her eyes and kept a lookout while Laguna continued his search.

He didn't think to find out the girl's name before starting this search, he did at least know approximately when the girl died and what she looked from the picture Odine had.

Laguna hadn't expected there to be so many files to look through. More people died in Esthar than he thought or ever wanted to think about. What made it worse was most of them died from a violent crime and not of natural causes. He made a mental note to do something about it.

Even if he were to find the right file he had no idea what he would be looking for in the file but he had to start somewhere.

"I found it!" Laguna announced cheerfully.

"That's great, sir, can we leave now?" Delilah asked.

"Just give me a minute to make a copy."

"Sir, someone is coming, we have to leave!" Delilah tugged at Laguna's arm but he wouldn't leave till the copies were made.

"Done!"

He didn't have time to put the file back, and he didn't want to have to explain what the president was doing snooping through the records of the morgue.

Now all he had to do was figure out what he was looking for.

* * *

I have no idea when the next chapter will be done, I haven't even started it yet. The only reason this one is up so quickly is because I had it half finished when I posted the first chapter. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated, let me know what you think!


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